Latest News

Rick Fedrizzi and USGBC Recognized as Visionaries
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and its President, CEO and Founding Chairman, Rick Fedrizzi, were recognized recently with the National Building Museum’s 2009 Honor Award. The award acknowledges leadership on environmental issues and the significant accomplishments made in improving sustainability within the built environment.
Construction Speding Increases
The U.S. Department of Commerce reported on Monday, June 2 that construction spending during the month of April was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $968.7 billion, up 0.8 percent from the previous month, surpassing analysts predictions. The slight uptick represents the first spending increase by U.S. construction firms since August of last year.
Call for Entries: Design Competition
Hoping to unearth innovative ideas to showcase brick in sustainable, new design uses, Potomac Valley Brick (PVB) announces a call for entries for a new, international architectural green design competition. In "Brick-stainable: Re-thinking Brick," entrants will be asked to design a hypothetical net-zero energy building using clay masonry as a primary material.

Masonry Design magazine offers a wide-ranging look at the materials, trends and technologies that aid architects and engineers in creating better masonry projects. The editorial mission of Masonry Design is to educate and inform architects, engineers and specifiers about the vital role that masonry plays in the construction markets in the United States and Canada, as well as to promote masonry and masonry systems in building design (commercial, residential, institutional and educational), interior design and hardscaping applications.

Each issue of Masonry Design includes fresh perspectives from industry experts on the themes of design trends, masonry materials and design technologies, as well as in-depth profiles of the architectural and engineering firms that shape the industry. For more details on these and other subjects to be covered in the magazine, see our media kit. To get your firm, projects or products featured in Masonry Design, contact the Editor, Cory Sekine-Pettite at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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NEW DIGITAL EDITION!
The current issue is now available in "digital magazine" format. Click on the cover image above and enjoy a new online reading experience. To access digital editions of past issues go to the Digital Edition page.

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Vision 2020: A Timely Idea

Pick up a newspaper, turn on the news, and listen to the radio. It won’t be long before you hear about our struggling economy. The talk may begin with Wall Street or the banking industry, but the floundering construction industry eventually will be included in the report. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
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Thin Brick

Thin brick is an extremely diverse material. The material’s lightweight and slender profile give it the opportunity to perform where full-face brick cannot. Interior applications and renovations are obvious areas where thin brick does not require a foundation support and/or steel support angles. The question is: If thin brick is advantageous in areas where additional structure is not feasible, why should we add these support components at all?

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Permeable Pavement Comparisons

The last century has seen a tremendous growth in the number of paved surfaces for vehicular traffic. While offering many economic benefits, these impervious surfaces created significant environmental and economic impacts such as stream bank erosion, flooding, and polluted streams, lakes, rivers and estuaries. Fortunately, onsite stormwater management is a priority in site design today. Further, infiltration via permeable pavement is rising as a major tool for onsite stormwater management.

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Masonry is one of the oldest and most sought after building materials for new building construction. It can serve as both finish and structure, and is therefore extremely versatile in adding both beauty and strength to a project. For some owners, the use of masonry often is limited in projects because of concerns regarding cost, scheduling, quality assurance monitoring and performance.

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Moisture Management

As masonry wall design continues to evolve into the 21st century, terms like air and vapor barriers, steel stud assemblies, rigid insulation, semi-rigid insulation, batt insulation, ventilation with weeps and vents, mortar collection devices, clear air space, and oversize masonry units are all employed to describe today’s masonry wall. Add to that list things like “green,” “high-performance” and “sustainable,” and well … masonry has gone through quite a transformation. But the constant over time has been the concern over the damaging effects of moisture infiltration.

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Toronto’s Historic Wesley Building

Though the city of Toronto may only be known to many as a tertiary metropolis when it comes to well known or architecturally significant buildings in North America, Canada’s financial and cultural capital still has a great deal to offer if you know where to look. Toronto’s downtown skyline and nearby neighborhoods are, in fact, home to structures designed by some of the world’s most prominent architects, including Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, Norman Foster, Will Alsop and I. M. Pei.

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